TC and AP Base Station Firmware Update 7.4.2

[Padmé Amidala]

The Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n* Firmware 7.4.2 update provides several fixes, including:

Fixes some problems with extending and maintaining connectivity with extended networks
Fixes an issue with clients that enable 802.11 "Power Save"
Fixes connectivity issues with some third-party devices
Fixes an issue when the base station is configured for PPPoE
Fixes some Back To My Mac issues with connectivity and support for third-party routers


It is recommended that AirPort Utility 5.4.2 or later be installed before upgrading to Firmware version 7.4.2.

http://support.apple.com/downloads/Time_Capsule_and_AirPort_Base_Station_Firmware_Upd ate_7_4_2

[Ismene]

Aggiornato! :)

[tobebarbera]

Grazie, aggiornata!

[Padmé Amidala]

AirPort 7.4.2 firmware update causing USB hard drives to lose connectivity

Users have reported that the latest AirPort firmware update (7.4.2) has caused the external hard drives connected to their AirPort Extremes via USB to lose connectivity after only a few minutes of operation.


MacFixIt reader Justin H. reports:
"There seems to be a handful of users who are having similar problems with the latest firmware (7.4.2) update for Airport Extreme base stations. What's happening is that the Airport is dropping the connection to the disks attached via USB after a few minutes of use, and not reconnecting. Some users have found that power cycling the drive fixed the problem, while others needed to revert back to 7.4.1."
Apple Support Discussions user "vabaist" relays:
"Same problem here with 7.4.2. Two drives (1TB, 500 GB) attached via USB hub to the Airport Extreme.
The drives are visible after a reset of the AE, but the connection drops after 1 min of activity (doing a Time Machine backup or watching a movie from a connected hd for example).
Had reverted today to 7.4.1 and the problem was gone. There's something very wrong with this update."

Apple Support Discussions user "UncleBrian" echoes the issue:
"Immediately after doing the 7.4.2 firmware upgrade to my Airport Extreme, I wasn't able to see or access the external HD (MyBook 1TB) anymore. Even resetting the Airport didn't do it. Disconnecting the external drive's USB cable from Airport didn't do it.
What DID do it was unplugging the power cord from the external hard drive and reconnecting it. After that, everything was back to (almost) normal.
My internet connection DOES seem slower, though, after the firmware update."

Possible fix
It appears as though the universal solution for this issue is reverting your AirPort firmware back to version 7.4.1. This, with a combination of power cycling your external drives should provide normal functionality.
Resources
Read this Apple Support Discussions thread about USB hard drives losing connectivity after the AirPort 7.4.2 firmware update.

[Padmé Amidala]

AirPort firmware update 7.4.2 may cause poor iPhone wireless performance

Some users have reported frustrations regarding the performance of their iPhones on their home wireless networks after the latest firmware update to Apple's wireless AirPort devices, 7.4.2.


Apple Support Discussions user "jeremybrigden" writes:
"I have a 10 Mb/s cable connection and an Airport Extreme (firmware 7.4.2). I just connected to WiFi on my 3GS for the first time this morning and the results are absolutely terrible!
My MacBook connects at 9.74 Mb/s down and 500 Kb/s up. Great.
My iPhone 3GS connects at between 85 and 512 Kb/s down and 115 and 365 Kb/s up.

- I used Speedtest.net and their app to test the connection speeds.
- WiFi signal strength was displayed as full bars.
- There were no other open WiFi connections while each device was tested.
- I cycled the phone on and off.
- I reset the network settings.
Are these speeds a result of a software setting on either the iPhone or the Airport Extreme?"
Possible fix
Apple Support Discussions user "Jamie Kennea" suggests:
"I think this issue is caused by the 7.4.2 Airport Extreme update. I noticed slow download speeds on my home WiFi network since that upgrade, I was speed testing at 1.5Mbps using speedtest.net on my computers and my iPhone 3GS.
I just now downgraded the Airport Extreme to 7.4.1 and now my speedtest is reporting 9.1Mbps, back to what it should be. I did the downgrade by right clicking on the Airport icon in the Airport Utility, clicking "Upload Firmware" and selecting the 7.4.1 firmware. I'm sticking with that for now as it gave me no problems before."

Resources
Read this Apple Support Discussions thread regarding the AirPort 7.4.2 update causing undesirable iPhone wireless performance.